Oh Fuck I'm nearly 40 and 5 months! How did that happen? Why does time keep moving onwards?
The race is on to release the DVD of "menage a un" in time for Christmas. It's a possibility apparently. So if you're struggling to think of a gift for a friend then it might be worth hanging on to see. It's only 10 pounds for a good long show, with lots of extras. If you can't wait, then why not buy the
"Someone Likes Yoghurt" and
Hercules DVDs instead. Or indeed any of the other excellent products offered by
Go Faster Stripe. They are doing quite a few more shows from other great comedians and they are well worth supporting in their endeavours, if you enjoy the kind of comedy that usually doesn't have the mainstream appeal to get a DVD release. I'm doing "Oh Fuck, I'm 40" with them at Easter too. It's all happening!
Anyway the exciting and amusing news about the DVD (this isn't just a promotional entry) is that for the first time I have been given an 18 certificate (so bad luck to my younger fans - you must NOT watch this DVD until you are older. Respect the BBFC as I did when I was your age and anyone who tells you I snuck in to see "The Other Cinderella" when I was 14 in 1981 is lying. Especially if my mum is reading this. Anyway it was just a fairy tale and luckily you can't find much about it on the internet so I can stick with that claim. No girls kissing each other in it at all).
I am not sure what has offended the BBFC in this show that didn't worry them in the others - apparently threatening to put a trout in the vagina of a 16 year old is only a 15, but discussing the French for potato is something only an adult should hear. That's the only way I can make sense of it anyway. I feel slightly honoured to be considered too rude for children to legally watch and am delighted that someone official has had to watch my show and judge it inappropriate. It is possibly the greatest achievement of my long life.
To be fair I will also recommend some other Christmas gifts that have a Richard Herring connection, but I won't make any money out of (and believe me, I don't make much from the DVDs - they are about preserving and distributing the shows rather than making cash. We're giving them away. We are literally Krazy!).
This book, by Steve Berry, has some quotes on the cover by me and also uses (at least) one of my jokes (credited). It is really good fun as well, telling you all about the toys from the 70s and 80s that I wish I had owned at the time.
I should also mention the tome of my esteemed colleague, TV's Emma Kennedy, which has a short foreward written by me (for nothing - swizz!). It's called
How to Bring Up Your Parents and it's really funny and is also, I understand, soon to be translated into Latvian (so you might want to wait for that edition). Emma will even send you a message to stick in the front of your copy if it is a gift, which smacks of desperation if we're being honest. I don't have time for that sort of thing. Just to organise prize draws in which I give away junk from my office in return for money! Hmmmm, who is the real tragic figure?
While we're promoting things, this is something I have no connection with, other than I think I am getting it for Christmas, it's
The Complete Far Side by Gary Larson. I first came across his work when I was on Camp America in 1986 and it blew me away and was quite an early influence on my own stuff. I found a book in a box, opened it, totally unaware of what to expect and it was just one of the coolest things I have ever seen. The fact that I discovered it whilst knowing nothing about it at all made it all the more special. His books soon made it over to the UK, but I liked him FIRST! And that is all that matters.
I already probably have nearly all his stuff, but the prospect of having it in one massive hardback book with special extras is too much for me to resist. It's expensive, but not as expensive as it was, but you can get other of his books for a lot cheaper, so check him out if you don't know him already.
Anyway I am sure that none of you will have any money left after all I have squeezed out of you recently, but you can always make other people buy this stuff for you. That's the beauty of Christmas. It's all about what you can get. Good luck.
